December is the “frosty month” in the northern hemisphere. Frosty, but not the coldest, true winter is yet to come. Winter arrives this year on December 22, the winter solstice. On the first day of winter, the sun reaches the solstice when it will go no further south. This will be the shortest day of
Bush beans flowering December brings the arrival of summer to the Southern Hemisphere vegetable garden. Warm-season crops can still be planted this month. Spring-planted crops will come to harvest this month. If you are preparing for your summer Christmas holiday, make sure that the vegetable garden is well mulched before you go. Mulch will keep
Autumn is the time to renew the soil by spreading aged compost or commercial organic planting mix across beds. Autumn is a good time to begin preparing the vegetable garden for spring planting. Remove woody and diseased plant debris from the garden as soon as the harvest is complete–pull up tomato vines and beans and
Cool-season vegetable varieties are legion. Check with neighbors and friends to see which varieties they’ve had success with. After a season or two, you will find personal favorites. Here are several varieties for autumn, winter, and spring planting. If you are growing in a cold frame, you can get any of these started between late
The name October comes from the Latin word for eight, “octo”. October was the eighth month in the Roman calendar. That all changed in the sixteenth century when the Gregorian calendar was adopted. Now, October is the tenth month. The whole reason for changing the calendar came with the notion of bringing the calendar
Garlic seedlings in early spring October is the month of greatest change in the southern hemisphere vegetable garden; spring is here. Now is the time to plant with the summer reward in mind. Plant tomato, eggplant, capsicum, cucumber, sweet corn, marrow, melons, zucchini, and pumpkin this month in all but the coldest regions of the
Onion Planting: Onions require cool weather to start growth and produce green leaves for green or spring onions and warm weather to produce mature bulbs. Grow onions from seed, seedlings, or sets (small dry onion bulbs started the year before). Bulbing onions require 80 to 120 days to reach harvest. Green onions are harvested before
Plant cabbage in early spring for summer harvest. Plant cabbage in late spring for fall harvest. Cabbage can be harvested nearly all year round as long as the weather stays cool. The key to planting cabbage is to choose the season in your region where cabbage will grow and come to harvest in cool weather. Plant
You can freeze extra tomatoes for use in winter. Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked dishes as freezing will cause them to lose their firmness. Here are two ways to freeze tomatoes: ● Place whole or peeled tomatoes in a plastic freezer bag and freeze. (To peel a tomato, place it in a strainer
The combination of dead vegetation with air and moisture will result in compost. Composting is a natural decomposition. Composting can take place in a simple free-standing heap of garden waste or a homemade wire-mesh container or a commercially made bin. Here are the basics you’ll need to know to start composting at home: •
